I ran across a blog last week that I wanted to share with you all. It is a blog by Ryan Woods who is a minister and church planter in Vancouver, Washington. He has terminal cancer and is sharing his thoughts along the way. Ryan is a young guy who has a lot to share from his unique perspective. I have found it helpful in dealing with some of life’s tougher questions. His most recent post is called Blaming God for Cancer and it is profoundly helpful and insightful. He is honest. He asks the right questions. He is humble. He shares things we all will need to hear at some point in time either from the standpoint of personal suffering or suffering of loved ones. So have a read when you get a chance…
Ryan is speaking at the Exponential Conference in Orlando this week. You can read more about Ryan here and about the Exponential Church Planting conference here.
Last, pray for Ryan and his family when you are done with this post.
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Excellent journal, indeed, Matt. Thanks for introducing me to it.
I have seen a few blogs recently that have attempted to deal with various types of suffering. None of them – including the one linked to here – wants to give God any responsibility for the suffering. They eschew any hint at theology associated with suffering. “Suffering is the result of a fallen world. God has nothing to do with it.” Agreed – almost. Where does it come from? Was suffering an unforeseen (by God), chance occurrence? Does “Satan” have creative power? Is “Satan” a deity? Can he create a thrombus that causes a myocardial infarction? Can “Satan” create a tsunami? What do we do with Amos 4? What do we do with Job 42:11? Exodus 4:10ff? The Flood? God imposed the curse of death (Gen 3) but not the dying process itself?
The Lord Jesus, with outstretched, nail-pierced hands, said, “AS the Father sent me into the world, even so now I send you.” As a father, my heart aches for Ryan. What I would want for him, though, is to see God right in the middle of his suffering; to see his suffering, like his Lord’s suffering, as part of the redemption of the World; not as meaningless, random chance – just as likely to have occurred as not; not as something of which the Father will one day have to say, “Oh, yeah, about that cancer – tough luck, that. Sorry. Nothing I could do. And, no, it didn’t serve any purpose. But, hey, I’ve got this real nice mansion for ya…” I think THAT is, well, I won’t say what I think that is.